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High winds cause minor damage to homes, shut down Skyway Bridge temporarily

High winds cause minor damage to homes, shut down Skyway Bridge temporarily
Posted at 9:14 AM, May 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-06 11:13:01-04

High winds late Friday night and early Saturday sparked emergency calls across west Pasco County and closed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for several hours.

Wind gusts were reported as high as 65 miles per hour with sustained winds of 50 mph stretching from Hudson to New Port Richey.

Due to the high winds, Pasco County Fire Rescue limited its calls of service to only life threatening emergencies until the winds subsided, Pasco County spokesman Doug Tobin said.

Pasco Emergency Services received reports of as many as six homes sustained some damage, mostly  aluminum awnings.

In one incident, emergency workers responded to a call of a downed power pole and missing carport in the 12700 block of Litewood Drive in Hudson. In a second report, a carport and part of a roof was ripped off a house in the 4900 block of Galleon Court in New Port Richey.

The Skyway Bridge closed shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday and remained off limits for a while due to high winds. The bridge reopened before 6 a.m.

Despite the high winds, no major damage has been reported.